Health & Care Information Disseminated intravascular coagulation or DIC is a syndrome that is the most common cause of an abnormal hemorrhage tendency during pregnancy and the puerperium and reflects systemic activation of the coagulation cascade by circulating thromboplastin material, with secondary activation of the fibrinolytic system.
A condition in which the over activation of the proteins involved in the process of blood clotting is experienced called as Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC).Any patient with Disseminated intravascular coagulation(DIC) presents a major management challenge, and this challenge is further complicated when the patient is pregnant and carrying a viable fetus.
Dic Pregnancy Symptoms
If a pregnant woman is having disseminated intravascular coagulation it shows various Symptoms which may include any of the following:
- Bleeding occurs from many sites in the body.
- Blood clotting.
- Low blood pressure.
- Shortness of breath and difficulty in breathing.
- Confusion, memory loss or behavior change.
- Fever
If disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) is present in a pregnant patient it almost invariably is evidence of an underlying obstetric disorder such as abruption placentae, eclampsia, and retention of a dead fetus, amniotic fluid embolism, placental retention or bacterial sepsis.
Dic Pregnancy Mortality Rate
“Consumptive coagulopathy” is used as an alternative to DIC and considered to be the most common sponsor for maternal morbidity and mortality. It is associated with up to 25% of maternal deaths.
Dic Pregnancy Risk Factors
There are different Risk factors which can affect the occurrence of DIC which include:
- Reaction due to blood transfusion
- Cancer (certain types of leukemia)
- Pancreatitis
- Bacterial or fungal infection in the blood
- Liver disease
- Pregnancy complications (like placenta that is left behind after delivery)
- Recently done surgery or anesthesia
- Severe tissue injury (such as in burns and head injury)
- Large hemangioma (a blood vessel that is not formed properly)
The advancement of DIC can result into some most common obstetrical abnormalities including; post-partum hemorrhage, placental abruption, HELLP syndrome, preeclampsia, retained dead fetus, acute fatty liver, and septic abortion.
Dic Pregnancy Complications
DIC has been associated with a series of pregnancy complications including the following:
- acute peripartum hemorrhage (uterine atony, cervical and vaginal lacerations, and uterine rupture)
- placental abruption
- preeclampsia/eclampsia/hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelet count
- retained stillbirth
- septic abortion and intrauterine infection
- amniotic fluid embolism
- acute fatty liver of pregnancy.
